Every lie, no matter how small, has some degree of truth.Five months after moving to New York City, Emily is engaged to Blake Carson, future doctor and the man who she believes to be the love of her life. Until she starts to realize that the foundation upon which she’s building her future is based on a series of Blake’s self-serving lies. Blake can’t let her go. He can’t continue to deceive Emily, either. But Blake’s biggest problem is that he has to maintain the life he has become accustomed to, at any cost. And that means keeping his overbearing mother happy, and keeping Emily ignorant.Tyler Carson left New York City two years ago, happy to leave behind all of the Carson family drama. Until he comes home and meets Emily. Falling in love with his brother’s fiancée was easy. Protecting her from his family was necessary. Leaving her was almost impossible, knowing that he was breaking her heart, and his own.Finding solace in her friendship with Tyler, Emily is forced to face the reality that Blake is not the man she thought he was. But neither is Tyler, the friend who gave her the clarity she needed, and then left her alone to pick up the shattered pieces of her life. Heartbroken and deserted, Emily has had enough of the Carson brothers.But sometimes, love is not that which sends us soaring, but that which keeps us grounded. Can Emily ever bring herself to love another Carson completely?Secrets, lies and lust-filled nights, all in the name of the screwed-up pursuit of happily ever after, Scared of Forever is the second novel in the Scared Series, which features characters from Scared of Beautiful, but can be read as a standalone.

Tyler offers me an absolutely angelic and innocent smile.His warm eyes silently attest to the sincerity of his words as he eyes me expectantly. He walks over to the passenger side of the Jeep and opens the door with exaggerated grandeur, sweeping a hand across his midline elegantly.“That’s a bit of a lost art,” I say as I climb up the high step into the seat, thankful that I’d opted for ballet flats and jeans.“What is?” Tyler asks as he hops into the driver’s seat.“Gentlemanly behavior. Chivalry. I don’t know when, if ever, anybody has opened my door for me,” I say, slightly ashamed that as a woman, I hadn’t demanded better treatment.“Well, strap yourself in, princess. Today is gonna be a day of amazing first times.” Tyler shoots me a cheeky grin, before turning the key in the ignition.“Is it too late to change my mind?” I laugh, playfully grabbing for the door handle.“Yup. You’re now my willing prisoner,” he says solemnly before taking off.Tyler drives us carefully out of the city. The rain clouds that had opened up above the city seem to be moving in the opposite direction now. The further away we drive, the clearer the sky becomes, the ratio of blue to grey skewing more as the road widens from narrow city streets to open country roads.“Where are we going?” I ask. The drive seems to be infinite.“Do you trust me?” Tyler asks.“Should I? I barely even know you.”“Trusting the people you know can sometimes be even worse than trusting the ones you don’t,” Tyler says quietly.“What does that mean?” I ask nervously. Does he mean Blake? Eliza?“Forget it,” Tyler says. “I don’t particularly want to ruin the day by talking about all that heavy shit. We’re nearly there.”“Why are you being so nice to someone you barely know?” I ask, looking towards Tyler, who is focusing intently on the road ahead.“Do I need a reason to be a nice guy?” He shoots me with a charming smile. His brow furrows as he averts his eyes back to the road. “You can tell me if you’re uncomfortable with any of this. We can go straight back. I’d understand, I mean, you haven’t known me all that long.”“Not at all,” I say sincerely. Fact is, I feel more comfortable and safer in Tyler’s company than I did with Blake last night.I roll the window down and inhale the salty ocean air that wafts in. Leaning forward to look past Tyler, I see, between the tall oak trees that flank the road, the vast, sapphire blue sea. The sun has even decided to make an appearance from beyond the grey, ominous clouds.“Wow,” I breathe.“Welcome to the Hamptons,” Tyler says jovially.“I thought you hated all things high society, and you decide to bring me to the summer playground of New York’s rich and famous?” I question, confused.“We’re not going to hang out with the rich and famous. Besides, it isn’t society season. The only people here now are those who actually live here,” he explains.We continue to drive, beyond the sprawling mansions with their impossibly green lawns, perfectly manicured and lined with tall evergreen fir trees.“That’s Eliza’s summer house,” Tyler says, pointing to a majestic stone mansion nestled between two long stretches of sand, and backing directly onto the white sandy beach.“Holy shit!” I exclaim. “I think that place is bigger than my whole home town!”Tyler just laughs. “I take it you’ve never been inside it then. It’s full of space and echoes.”We drive right past it, until the road becomes narrower and declines steeply, the Jeep’s tires picking up the rocks and sand from the dirt track and flinging them backwards relentlessly. Tyler handles the car amazingly well, navigating and steering carefully over the now very thin road until we arrive at a much smaller, yet still expansive, weatherboard cottage. The white framed windows look positively striking against the dark beige paint of the exterior. A picketed wraparound balcony encases the obviously abandoned house.“We’re here,” Tyler says happily. He parks the car and hops quickly from his seat, jogging around to open my door.I take a step out and stare in awe at the sight before me. The beach stretches out for miles. Immediately ahead, a makeshift fence has been created between the house and the sand from old pieces of hardwood, pickets and thin wire. The sun casts a luminous sparkle against the rising tide...

About the Author

Jacqueline Abrahams is the author alter ego for an ordinary mum to three children (two human and one canine) and wife to one husband. Born in South Africa, she now calls Sydney, Australia her home.A collector all things books and bookish, she in an avid reader and has a tiny obsession with filling bookshelves. When she's not preoccupied wearing her aspiring author or mummy hat, she is working her way towards completing a degree in Primary and Secondary Teaching (with an English major of course!)